Platycerium bifurcatum, commonly known as the staghorn fern or elkhorn fern, is a modestly cold hardy subtropical epiphyte native to eastern Australia and parts of the the East Indies. Though no species of the genus Platycerium can be called truly cold hardy, this species is capable of handling temperatures down to 27 F (-3 C) with minimal damage. This article chronicles a plant I’ve grown in my yard in southern Japan for the last 11 years – a climate that has tested the boundary of its cold resistance many times.

P. bifurcatum is without a doubt the most commonly propagated member of this relatively small genus of epiphytic ferns (~18 known species). Like many ferns, these grow two types of fronds, fertile and infertile. The fertile fronds are elongate, leaf-like and bear spores, while the infertile fronds (also called shield fronds because of their flat, spreading habit) have no spores. In P. bifurcatum the fertile fronds are forked (bifurcate), looking like a deer’s antlers. The shield fronds grow more or less flat against whatever they are mounted on, and are roughly circular in shape. In time plants can form formidable clumps, spreading by “pups”, or offshoots that grow off small stems (called rhizomes), just below the shield fronds. Large clumps can grow to nearly the size of a small car!

Platycerium bifurcatum growing my garden in southern Japan, on the island of Kyushu.

P. bifurcatum is the most commonly available cold hardy staghorn fern. Only one other species is perhaps even more cold hardy, that being P. veitchii, which is said to handle 25 F (-4 C) without suffering. P. bifurcatum is reliably cold hardy down to 27 F provided that any given frost event is not terribly long, and the following summer is long and warm enough to allow it to recover fully. It can even take down to 24 F (-4.5 C), but events like this must be very sporadic, or the plant will not be able to recover.

I moved to my current house in the fall of 2004. It is situated on the edge of some moderately tall mountains (up to 3000 ft, or 900 m elevation), and is approximately 3 miles (~5 km) from the sea. The region rarely sees below 27 F, but can get down to 23 F (-5 C) on occasion. Winters are relatively short, starting in earnest by mid to late December, and finishing by late February. During this time frosts are frequent, but usually last no more than a day. Average temperatures during this period normally are 43-45 F (6-7 C) overall, with highs around 48 F (9 C) and lows just above freezing. Winter rain is frequent, but usually light to moderate. Snow is also common, but short lived, normally melting within a few hours of accumulating.

By contrast, both spring and fall are long and mild. The frost free months extend from early April through late November or early December. Spring is followed by a strong summer monsoon, lasting from early June to late July. Temperatures during this period are warm, averaging around 77 F (25 C), and most days are cloudy with at least some rain. From late July through mid September is the real heat, with daily highs averaging between 90-93 F (32-34 C), and lows only down to 79-83 F (26-28 C). This is a time of true tropical heat.

I mention all of this to give a context for describing how P. bifurcatum has performed in my garden over the last decade. Based on my results, you can get an idea of whether your climate will be suitable to try this one outdoors or not. I will add that my plant has received no special winter protection, not even from snow. So lets see how it has progressed through the years, and what setbacks it has also endured.

Figure 1: Platycerium bifurcatum growing for the first five years in my garden.

The plant started in fact as two distinct, subadult plants bought at a typical garden shop. In the summer of 2005 they were mounted onto a crape myrtle tree (Lagerstroemia indica) into a ball of sphagnum moss, pine bark, and other organic debris. This was contained by a chicken wire net formed around the trunk of the tree. By the fall of that year the two had established nicely, but remained separate (Figure 1, top left). December 2005 had a cold start, with temperatures reaching to as low as 24 F (-4.5 C) on a couple of occasions. Fortunately, the rest of the winter was fairly normal, with frosts above 29 F (-1.5 C). Nevertheless, the newly established plants were severely damaged, looking quite bad by the following spring. They managed to squeak through the next summer, increasing slightly, and thankfully the winter of 2006-07 wasn’t very cold.

Much to my surprise, during the next spring and summer the two plants exploded into growth, and by fall had completely colonized the entire ball of growing medium (Figure 1, top right). The winter of 2007-08 again proved to be rather cold and snowy with temperatures down to 27 F on a few occasions, and there were several significant snow events. Again, by spring the plant looked rather sad, with most of the fertile fronds in bad shape. I was beginning to wonder if this species was a good garden candidate for this climate.

Then the plant surprised me again by exploding into growth and becoming an even larger ball of fronds by early fall 2008. This growth pattern continued into the next growing season and by 2009, the plant was solidly established and getting positively large, a good 5 ft (1.5 m) across (Figure 1 bottom). By now my confidence in the fern’s ability to handle local winters and rebound each summer was growing. I thought I had found the perfect subtropical epiphyte for my garden. Every person who saw it was intrigued by this most unusual plant, and many commented “your garden looks like a jungle!”

Figure 2: Platycerium bifurcatum before and after the extreme cold event of January 2016.

This pattern of growth continued for the next six years, even through the dreaded winter of 2010-11, which killed many of my other subtropical plants – Platycerium superbum, several epiphytic orchid species, and even Cyathea australis (a “cold hardy” tree fern). That winter was brutal not because the lowest temperatures were severe, but rather that frosts were essentially daily events throughout January, with the average temperature for that month coming in at only 37 F (3 C). Remarkably, the P. bifurcatum just sailed on with a few frost burned fertile fronds. That convinced me this plant was indestructible. I even stopped photographing it, since by now it seemed a permanent feature of the garden. Then January 2016 changed everything.

The fall of 2015 was unusually warm and frostless up through Christmas. January started out warm as well such that quite a few plants remained in flower, particularly in the city’s heat island. I even remember seeing bougainvillea in flower for the first two weeks after New Year’s. Then starting on January 24th temperatures plummeted below freezing and remained there for the next 40 hours. The first day was the worst, quickly dropping to 24 F and staying below 30 F for nearly two days straight. Moderate snow fell throughout the region, leaving accumulations up to 4 inches (10 cm) in my area. Interestingly, on the 24th there were white out conditions due to high winds, so the storm was categorized as a blizzard. In the end it wasn’t the snow that mattered for the tender plants, but rather the nonstop below freezing conditions.

At first I thought that maybe everything would be OK since many plants had lived through the long cold spell in 2011. A few days after the temperatures returned to normal the truth was revealed – many plants had taken a serious hit, and many more would likely die outright. My now huge P. bifurcatum was hit hard, as evidenced by the death of essentially all of its fronds (Figure 2). I had to wait another 2 months for spring before I knew whether it would recover or not.

Figure 3: Before and after pictures of the fern in mid July 2016. The photo on the left shows the plant before it was cleaned of dead shield fronds.

At first the plant grew just a few new fertile fronds, but no new shield fronds. By the end of the summer monsoon (mid July), I began to worry about its health. I had already removed all the dead fertile fronds earlier in the spring, but the dead shield fronds remained (Figure 3, left). Fearing that they were causing harm, I removed as many of them as possible in the hopes of better air circulation in the fern’s rootball. The plant grew very little in August through mid September. Starting in late September and continuing for the next two months it began to grow more and even grew new shield fronds – a good sign. By early December it was looking much better, but still in recovery (Figure 4).

Figure 4: The clump of P. bifurcatum in recovery, December 2016.

So what’s the take home message? Simply this, if you live in a climate that stays above 27 F most of the time and the average monthly winter temperature doesn’t go below 41 F (5 C) or so, you have a good shot at growing this species outdoors without much, if any winter protection. However, if frost events are common (meaning more than once a week), your chances of succeeding are less likely. On the other hand, if you live in a climate that gets occasional hard freezes (such as north Florida), but otherwise has high average temperatures, you can grow this plant, though you will need to protect it from frosts below 24 F or risk loosing your fern. In mild, relatively frost free maritime climates such as parts of the British Isles, coastal northern California and Oregon, or in city heat islands in otherwise cold climates, this fern may persist for several winters – as long as there is no serious cold event.

I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention a couple other important details about growing this fern successfully, even in warmer climates. First of all, this fern will not tolerate soggy roots. For that reason I do not recommend growing it longterm in plastic pots, especially if the compost is old. Following that, the compost should be fully draining, yet moisture retentive. Soggy roots is a common reason why people fail with this plant. If you are growing this plant on the edge of its cold tolerance, I highly recommend keeping it just moist enough to prevent it from withering. A combination of cold with a wet rootball is a probable death sentence. That said, my plant has endured many rain and snow events and survived (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Platycerium bifurcatum can withstand cold winter rains and even short snow events, at least in my climate.

Fertilizer should be applied only in warm weather, and shouldn’t be too strong. I would recommend a slow release pelletized type with relatively low N-P-K, or any good organic fertilizer. Some folks recommend banana peels tucked into the shield fronds. I use pelletized organic fertilizer with an N-P-K around 5-5-5. Once a month is enough to keep this fern happy, backing off in the fall as the cold weather approaches.

If you follow these basic guidelines, you will be surprised at this subtropical fern’s cold hardiness and vigor. Without a doubt it will add a very tropical look to your garden. Large specimens mounted on a tree can be real show stoppers. One added benefit – these ferns are fast growing and cheap, so why not give this staghorn fern a try?

Hello Botany Boy,
I’ve as president of the French Society for acclimatazing plants already been in touch with you to publish about Blechnum cycadifolium. You kindly told me your experience with Blechnums in Japan.
This article about Platycerium is not only interesting but a remarquable article of acclimatization with very good pictures.
Congratulations.
Epiphytes are very seldom used in temperate climates, I went to grow them about 8 years ago and I became fond of them, so that my camphor trees and artificial trees made of cork bark I can find in our cork-trees forests are more and more loaded with them.
We are going to publish about this topic : an overview of epiphytic condition based on exotics sponteanously growing in the crown of Phoenix canariensis even in dry climates is going to be followed by articles about the ones I’ve successfully grown in a zone9b climate including P.bifurcatum (4 years)and P.superbum (2 years).
So we are publishing about this Platycerium and I wondered if we could translate and publish your aticle or only quote it, but the french enthusiast is as bad at English than the American is bad at French.
Hope you can help us broadcasting acurate information about acclimatizing exotic plants.
Best regards.
Pierre

I grew P. superbum for 3 years outside until 2011 and that January killed it. P. bifurcatum is much hardier. Feel free to translate the article. It would be nice if you could give a link to my site as well.

Hello Tom,
Thanks a lot for your consent to publish a translation of your article about Platycerium. We always publish the name of the author and the origin.
We usually also publish some sentences about the author including job, climatic zone, kind of plants grown by the author, special interest. If you could do so it would be great.
Could we get 2 or 3 HD pictures ? (especially the one with snowy Platy.)
I’ll ask our computer specialist how publishing a link to your Internet Site. You can have a look at it with this link :http://actus.societe-francaise-acclimatation.fr/
If you go to “Publications”, you’ll see we have already done a rather good job.
Best regards.
Pierre

Wow! Really excellent story! Great info and pics! It was very interesting and entertaining to read about your Platycerium’s successes and setbacks. I kept thinking that the “reveal” would be that your Platy was finally killed by an exceptionally cold winter. So the suspense had me sitting on the edge of my seat.

Several years back, thanks to Craigslist, I got a really great deal on an overgrown NOID Cattleya. I divided it and ended up putting divisions on around a dozen different trees. All the divisions quickly established and grew quite well. Each year they all flowered. Then a few years later… my garden got hit by a freeze and around half of the divisions were killed. Some of the causalities were only a foot away from survivors.

This exceptionally cold event confirmed my number plant rule… don’t keep all my eggs in one basket. Hedge my bets! No two locations in any garden are going to provide the same exact amount of protection. Every garden has an incredible variety of microhabitats. So if it’s a plant that I’d be sad to lose, then I endeavor to maximize my chances of success by hedging my bets.

With this in mind, whenever I share divisions of cherished plants with friends… I be sure to let them know that I’m not being nice or generous or altruistic… I’m simply insuring my plant!

Sharing is caring? Sharing is insuring! So it’s a good idea to cultivate a network of strategically situated plant friends! Heh.

Of course for plenty of plant enthusiasts a primary goal is to have an impressive specimen. Which is fine… if the plant has already been adequately insured. But with plenty of plants it’s easy enough to propagate them from seed/spore. Just sprinkle some Platy spore on some wet floral foam in a pot… place the pot in a zip lock bag, set it by a window and voila! Your Platy’s insured!

The benefit of propagating from seed/spore is that the apple might fall far from the tree in the direction of greater cold tolerance. Progress is a function of difference.

“When a great company, or even a great merchant, has twenty or thirty ships at sea, they may, as it were, insure one another. The premium saved upon them all, may more than compensate such losses as they are likely to meet with in the common course of chances.” – Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

Hi Owen. Thankfully, this winter was more normal in terms of temperatures. The lowest temperature was around -1 C, and overall the average temperatures were close to normal. As a result, the plant looks good this year and is going into full growth now. I think it is going to be a good year for it. Thanks for the reply! Tom

Thank you so much for your very informative article on Habenaria radiata!

I would like to ask if it would be too late to plant the bulbs now. I live in Bulgaria, which has a temperate-continental climate, and just received Habenaria radiata bulbs as a present. If it is too late to plant them, do you think I could keep them until next year? How should I keep them – refrigerated or just in a cool, dark place?

Anna, go ahead and plant them now, it is not too late. If you try to keep them refrigerated, they will start growing anyway! In your climate, keep them in full sun and moist all summer long. A sphagnum peat/clean sand is best for these. No lime at all, so be careful what sand you use. Quartz sand is best. Good luck! Tom

Thank you so much, Tom! I really appreciate your advice! Just a few more questions, could you tell me what size pot I should use? I read conflicting advice – some say that it should be shallow and wide, others use normal orchid pots. I have a bonsai pot and many regular ones. Which should I opt for? Also, we get quite hot temperatures here lately (around 35 degrees Celsius/95 Fahrenheit. Is it really alright to leave them in full sun in that case?

Hi Anna. Staghorn ferns are epiphytes, so in my opinion, I’d use a pot that is relatively small. That said, they quickly expand if you give them room. IMO, pots are not the best choice, so I’d either mount them to a plank of wood or put them in a wire mesh hanging basket. In both cases they have room to expand and be happy. In a pot they will quickly become restricted – of course if that is what you want, that’s OK too. I’d go with a more shallow and wide pot with excellent drainage. They guys hate wet roots, but they can be continually moist if well drained. Bonsai pots are not free draining enough IMO. Hot temperatures are no problem, but these ferns are not good in the sun, particularly midday sun. So give them some shade. Morning sun is OK, but hot afternoon sun may not be such a good idea either, especially if you are in a southern latitude. Happy growing! Tom

Thank you, but I am actually still asking about the Habenaria radiata. Sorry about the confusion, but I could not comment on that article. I bought some peat moss and perlite and I am still looking for the quartz sand. I thought I would pot them in a bonsai pot, but I can also use a normal one.

They really are starting to grow in their little plastic bag. Poor guys!

Ah! Sorry Anna, I was confused. Yes, a bonsai pot is fine for these since it doesn’t need to be well draining. I think it is best to grow these guys nearly wet, but not sitting in stagnant water. In nature they are found in upland “bogs” – in truth seepage areas that are nearly submerged, but constantly flowing, not stagnant. If you live in a northern area then full sun is fine. If you live in a more southern latitude I’d give them a bit of light shade midday. Get them planted pronto! Good luck and have fun. Tom

I have two”show-stopper” stags – one is 33 years old, the other 27 years old with root balls 24″ in diameter. The older one was given to me in Miami the week my son was born, by a lady across the street who spoke no English so I had no idea what she was giving me.

What she gave me was a small leaf in a plate with some soil. Since it is the same age as my beautiful son, I am especially proud of it and I always try to take photos in front to it when he and his family are in town.

Both stags are my pride and joy, however, we live in New Orleans and recently had two week-long episodes of below freezing weather. I wrapped them in large sheets, then with plastic for each episode. They now look depleted but I have faith that they will rebound.

My questions: You mentioned cleaning off the dead shields – how is that done and is it advisable to encourage new growth? Also, should I remove the brown fronds or leave them intact for awhile?

Helen, I heard about your freeze event. I was in north Florida during the terrible freeze years in the 1980s, so I know how devastating they can be. I would wait to see how your ferns do before cutting too much material. Take off the fertile fronds for now. I suspect they will simply grow new shield fronds over the old dead ones and it won’t be a problem. Good luck! Tom

I have three Staghorn Ferns given to me by a friend, who has a lot of them growing in a wooded area beside her house. Two of the pups are doing quite well. One of them has mealy bugs growing under the flat fronds. The mealy bugs keep migrating up to the elongated fronds. I have tried several times to rid the plant of the mealy bugs to no avail. Every time I apply anything even organic, such as neem oil to get rid of the bugs, the fronds die, but the mealy bugs stay via eggs hatching from underneath the flat, round fronds. It has been impossible to rid this fern from these bugs. Luckily, they are contained to this one pup. Do you have any recommendations on how to get rid of these pests without killing this plant? Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Managing mealybugs can be a real challenge. If you are growing them outside year round, then you have more options. I don’t know what you’ve been using, but you could try something like neem oil or even 90% diluted isopropyl alcohol on the plant. With such milder remedies, repeated application will be needed. Don’t wait to see adults moving around, just spray the plant on a regular schedule (every two or three weeks perhaps). In the open environment there are many predators that feed on them, and it would be nice not to kill such natural enemies off with insecticides.

That said, if you want to use an insecticide, I would recommend a systemic. The problem with such chemicals is they do a great deal of damage to natural insect populations, including predators like spiders, parasitic wasps, and some beetles. Personally, I avoid such chemicals.

The other option is to simply dispose of the plant since it is the only one effected. Better to sacrifice one plant rather than risk the whole garden. Here is a good link to these pests from the University of California: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74174.html